As noted above, when shopping with children it is often desired to place a child carrier with an infant in it in the basket of a shopping cart, which makes it difficult to store all of the goods the parent wishes to purchase. The child carrier takes up a large fraction of the storage space in the basket, and one must take care to store any items that do fit in the basket around the child carrier such that they cannot topple into the child carrier.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an auxiliary storage device that can be conveniently attached to the side of a shopping cart to provide additional storage space for goods to be purchased. In addition to the requisite feature of convenient attachment, other desired attributes of such a device are durability in use; light weight and reasonable cost; and the ability to be rolled up or folded to a compact size for convenient storage when not in use.
The prior art known to the inventors does not satisfy the above objects of the invention.
Diccianni application 2009/0184146 shows a “shopping cart organizer” adapted to be attached to the handle of a shopping cart that is made by stitching a fabric member so as to define a number of pockets for glasses, keys, shopping list, pens and the like. This would not be suitable for receiving much in the way of goods.
Weigand et al design U.S. Pat. No. D536,503 shows a “product holder attachment for shopping cart” that appears to be a molded plastic box-like device. This would be bulky and inconvenient to store when not in use.
Weigand et al design U.S. Pat. No. D536,502 shows a “shopping cart product holder” that appears to be made primarily of bent wire. This would also be inconvenient to store when not in use.
Hankins, III shows a “basket to attach to side of shopping cart” apparently made of wire mesh. Likewise, this would be inconvenient to store when not in use.
Hickey et al application 2010/0104223 shows a “shopping bag” for receiving goods and having a number of pockets for the various items a shopper needs. This is apparently intended to be carried, not secured to a shopping cart.
Owlett U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,504 shows a “shopping organizer” adapted to be secured to the handle of a shopping cart and comprising various pockets, spring clips and the like for receiving items useful when shopping, not goods being purchased.
Abelbeck et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,018 shows a “tote bag” to be secured to the handle of a shopping cart and comprising various pockets for receiving items used by a shopper and also items useful to a child while accompanying an adult on a shopping trip.
Lohman application 2005/0029760 shows a “reusable shopping cart play and protective system for children” adapted to be secured to the fold-out child seat provided on many shopping carts. It can be made of cloth for convenient storage.